Texas Hold'em: What Hands Outrank Others?
Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker variant globally, and pinning down hand rankings is the initial step in becoming a skilled player. Learning which hands beat others can be straightforward, but beginners often make mistakes.
For instance, there's confusion about whether full houses or flushes are stronger, or whether straights beat three of a kind.
If you're a Texas Hold'em newbie and want to know these answers, you're in the right place. This article will guide you through everything you need to know about hand rankings in Hold'em.
Be prepared to revisit it a few times, but you'll never be confused about which beats what again.
Creating Hands in Texas Hold'em
In Hold'em, players start with two face-down cards, followed by five community cards dealt for all to use. You can use any combination of your hole cards and the community cards to form the best five-card hand.
The standard combinations are:- Using two cards from your hand and three community cards- Combining one hole card with four community cards- Using only the five community cards
During showdown, your hand will always be played based on the best five-card combo possible. This is usually unproblematic as the dealer compares all hands and announces a winner.
However, having a solid knowledge of hand rankings is necessary to play correctly before the cards are revealed.
Texas Hold'em Hand Hierarchy
Though hand values are the same across poker variations like 5 Card Draw and 7 Card Stud, if you're new to poker and Hold'em is the variation you're learning, this section will clarify any confusion.
Texas Hold'em Hand Rankings
Always remember that in Hold'em, your hand consists of five cards. You can't use four, six, or seven.
Hand values are:1. Royal flush: highest possible straight flush - T J Q K A of the same suit. This is the strongest hand in Texas Hold'em, a sure win.2. Straight flush: five cards of the same suit in sequential order, for example, 3s 4s 5s 6s 7s.3. Four of a kind (quads): four cards of the same rank combined with any fifth, like Q Q Q Q 2.4. Full house: three of a kind plus a pair, for example, 9 9 9 5 5.5. Flush: all five cards of the same suit, such as 3s 4s 5s 6s 7s.6. Straight: five cards in sequential order but not all of the same suit, for example, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.7. Three of a kind (trips): three cards of the same rank with two unrelated cards, e.g., T T T 7 2.8. Two pairs: two pairs of the same rank, for example, 9 9 5 5 J.9. One pair: two cards of the same rank with three different cards, e.g., K K 9 5 2 (pairs of kings).10. High card: five cards of different ranks and suits with no other combinations, like K, J, 7, 5, 2 (a king-high hand).
When unsure about which hand is stronger, refer to the list for clarification.
Establishing Winners in Texas Hold'em
Although you now understand all hand rankings, things aren't always this clear.
Imagine two players have the same hand type, like two pairs or a straight. How do you determine a winner?
The best tip is to remember that Texas Hold'em plays from the top down. For instance, a pair of aces beats a pair of kings. A pair of tens beats a pair of nines, and so on.
If you're still uncertain about the ranking, or just want a bit of practice, check out your favorite Texas Hold'em simulator or poker streamer's video tutorials for more examples.
Familiarize yourself with the hands, and you'll be an advanced player in no time.
When dealing with two pair scenarios, the top pair is the deciding factor on who takes home the pot. Let's say Player A has K K 2 2 X and Player B has Q Q J J X, the player with the pair of kings walks away with the winnings. This can be confusing if you're new to poker, especially if you may think that the other player's hand seems stronger. However, in Hold'em, card values do not come into play.
The same idea applies to full houses, with the player possessing the best three-of-a-kind combo winning.
In straight and flush situations, the highest card in the combination determines the winner. For instance, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 beats 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. When it comes to Aces high, the player with the Ace high hand is considered to have a straight, and if the board has a lower Ace (such as A2, 3, 4, 5, 6), the hand with the Ace high becomes the Ace high flush.
But what happens when you and your opponent end up with the same type of hand? In those situations, kickers come into play. Think of them as the stray cards in your hand that aren't part of any combinations. For example, in the hand K K T T J, the jack is the kicker card. In a hand of A A A 9 5, both the 9 and 5 are regarded as kickers.
Using our previous example, if you have KK T T 7 and your opponent has KK T T Q, the player with the queen wins.
However, this rule only applies if your hole card is higher than the available community cards. Remember, you're playing with the highest five cards, and not just your hole cards.
So, if you and your opponent have a tie, like two pairs of kings and tens, you compare your kickers to determine the winner.
Example 1: If Player A has 98 and Player B has 9 7, and the river card is 9 9 5 2 4, the pot goes to Player A because their kicker is higher than Player B's. The best possible hand for Player A is 9 9 9 8 5, while Player B's best hand is 99 9 7 5. The eight beats the seven, which leads to Player A winning the pot.
Example 2: When both players have the same hole cards (9 and 8) as before but the board reads 9 9 A J 2, the hands tie. Both players have the same best five-card hand: 9 9 9 A J. Since the eight and the seven are weaker than the ace and the jack, they're disregarded.
It's essential to understand the hierarchy of hands and how kickers are compared. The best possible five-card hand always plays, and it's important to start from the top and work your way down when figuring out which combinations are better than others.
Lastly, there's the concept of "holding the nuts." This is when you can't lose. Let's say you have Ah 5h and the board reads 9h 7h 2c 6c Qh. You have an Ace-high flush, which is considered the best possible hand, and no one can beat you. When you're new to poker, take your time evaluating the board and figuring out hands. As you improve, you'll become better at pinpointing the nuts.
Nuts In Texas Hold'em
Hold'em is a casino-style card game where a combination of community and hole cards are used to determine the winning hand. If you have Aces high and the board has lower Aces (like A2, 3, 4, 5, 6), you have an Ace high flush. This shape is considered the nut hand or "nuts" for short. If you have a pair of high cards and the community cards are all lower, you'll have a pair in your hand, and a better pair will "nut" you. Again, the best possible hand wins.
Let's consider an example: If you hold Ah 6s and the board comes 7h 8h Kc Ks 3c, you may not think you have much of a hand, since all the cards that look promising for a pair or straight are already in the community cards. But in actuality, you have the nuts. You have two prime pieces of information in your hand – the Ace and the 6. The ace is important because it allows you to form an Ace-high flush, which is one of the 16 winning hands in poker. And the 6 works as a "kicker" since the best possible hand will consist of the red Aces and the 6, rendering your opponent's hand ill-fated.
Another situation emerges when three matches of different ranks land on the board: Jc 5h 4s 4c 3h. In this case, a player with pocket fives holds the nuts, as the best 5-card hand would include five 5s.
In cases when multiple players have the same hand, the player with the odd card (the "kicker") wins. The kicker is the stray card in your hand that doesn't belong to any other combination. In a hand of K K 7 7 J, the jack is the kicker card. In another instance, if you have A A A 9 5, both the 9 and 5 are considered kickers.
From our kings and tens example, Player B (holding Q Q J J) will beat Player A (holding KK TT 7), as their kicker (the Q) is higher than Player A's (the 7).
While the dealer always ensures the pot goes to the rightful owner, understanding the structure of winning combinations is essential to playing the game properly and making the right moves at the table.
Take some time to evaluate the board and understand which combinations are possible. Keep in mind that there are only so many winning hands in poker.
You'll make your choices based on the power of your hand and the assumed strength of your adversary's cards.
If you know a full house beats a flush, you'll be less likely to pursue flush draws on a paired board.
When you have the best pair with a weak kicker, you'll know that your hand is vulnerable, so you need to tread carefully.
For someone who's been playing poker for a while, this knowledge might seem insignificant and unimportant, but it's far from it.
I still encounter individuals who lack a grasp of the fundamentals and aren't sure how to deal with their hands. They still choose to enter the fray and gamble with real money.
It's a rare occurrence, but it's something you wouldn't want, even in a casual game with low stakes.
The lowest stakes may only create some humiliation, but in a significant game, not understanding which poker hands outrank which can be a quite expensive blunder.
It's common sense that you can't start learning more complex strategies before you master the basics.
Hand rankings are the foundation of all poker concepts, from the most straightforward to the ones employed by high-level players.
Read also:
- Habeck alleges that Israel is breaching international legal norms.
- Conflict in Ukraine: a current overview
- Schalke nears massive changes
- Funkel expresses gratitude and bids farewell, though it seems insufficient.
